This invention relates to a burner unit for a firing furnace to be preferably used for firing, for example, formed ceramic bodies.
A burner unit as shown in a sectional and a side view of FIGS. 1a and 1b has been known using natural gases or the like as a fuel for firing formed ceramic bodies in a firing furnace.
As shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b in a furnace wall 21 made of a refractory material there is provided a burner tile assembly 22 and a burner 25 is bolted to the burner tile assembly 22 through a burner holder 24 and a front plate 23 provided on an outer surface of the burner tile assembly 22.
With such a burner unit, however, high temperature gases in the furnace tend to leak out of the furnace through connections between the burner tile assembly 22 and the furnace wall 21 and cracks in the wall and tiles. Therefore, the front plate 23 is often heated by the leaked high temperature gases to a red-heated state so that the heat in the furnace is dissipated uselessly.
Moreover, since the burner unit is fixed by bolts to the burner tile assembly 22 through the red-heated front plate 23, such a heated plate makes difficult maintenance of the furnace such as filling with ceramic fibers during operation of the burner 25'